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Monday, April 16, 2012

WNBA: NIGERIAN GIRL GETS PICKED BY LOS ANGELES SPARKS

Nigerian born Stanford star Nnemkadi Ogwumike was selected with the first pick in the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday.

Ogwumike
helped guide the Cardinal to the Final Four during all four of her
seasons at the school, including this year's loss to eventual champion
Baylor. The 6-foot-2 forward, who averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds
this past season, is the first Stanford player to be taken with the No.
1 pick. Previously three Cardinal players have been drafted third
overall.

Despite finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league at
15-19, the Sparks won the draft lottery in November. They had the
smallest chance -- 10 percent -- of the four eligible teams.
Los
Angeles also had the top pick in 2008 and selected Tennessee star
Candace Parker, who went on to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in
her first professional season.

Tennessee guard Shekinna Stricklen
went second to the Seattle Storm, who will be without star Lauren
Jackson for the first part of the season because she will stay in
Australia to train for the Olympics.

Notre Dame post Devereaux
Peters went third to the defending champion Minnesota Lynx, who had five
of the first 20 picks in the draft. The Lynx also picked Damiris Dantas
of Brazil with the final choice of the first round.

Tulsa, which had the worst record in the league last season with just three victories, took Glory Johnson fourth.
Miami
star Shenise Johnson was fifth going to San Antonio. Phoenix took Ohio
State point guard Samantha Prahalis sixth. The New York Liberty drafted
Kelley Cain seventh.
Natalie Novosel went eighth to Washington, and the Mystics also took LSU's LaSondra Barrett with the 10th pick.
Connecticut chose 6-foot-8 Astan Dabo from Mali with the ninth pick. Georgia Tech's Sasha Goodlett went 11th to Indiana.

The WNBA season will begin May 18 with training camps opening April 29.